Suicide Rate Among Teens and Young Adults at Highest Point Since 2000

The suicide rate among teens and young adults ages 15 to 24 is at its highest point since 2000, according to a new study. The rate increased the most among 15- to 19-year-olds and young men.

The researchers analyzed government data on deaths among 15- to 24-year-olds in the United States between 2000 and 2017. They found that among teens ages 15 to 19, the suicide rate was 8 per 100,000 people in 2000. By 2017, the rate increased to 11.8 per 100,000. Among young adults ages 20 to 24, the suicide rate was 12.5 per 100,000 people in 2000, and 17 per 100,000 in 2017.

The study did not examine factors contributing to the increase in suicides, CNN noted.

Nadine Kaslow, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told CNN one possible factor in the increase could be cyberbullying. “There’s growing evidence now that cyberbullying is associated with depression, with self-harm and suicidal thoughts and even death by suicide,” she said.